Apart from the Arabic language which is the L1 (Native Language) of more than half of the population of Sudan, which also stood close to forty million (40,000,000), Sudanese speak more than a hundred different languages. At the same time, those of Sudanese speaking languages other than Arabic use Arabic language to communicate with others.

The British Administration which colonized Sudan for the period of 58 years (1898-1956) had purposely disintegrated the South from the North, so that the former will lose touch with the Arabic and Islamic cultures. Just before the independence of Sudan, the Ministry of Education employed the services of an expert linguist to work on a project of introducing Arabic language in the South. Hence, he transcribed 5 of the southern languages using the Arabic script instead of the previously used Latin script. Missionary institutions bought the idea, embarked on the same project and reproduced 4 other southern languages using the same Arabic script.

When ISESCO in collaboration with the Islamic Development Bank set a committee to embark on the project of proposing the most suitable script system for transcribing African languages, Sudan has already accumulated a vast experience in the field, part of which was adopted by committee.

The Khartoum International Institute of Arabic established by the Arab League for Education, Science and Culture in 1974 has introduced a curriculum in its Master Degree program titled: Use of Arabic Script System in Transcribing Other Languages. In the same line, the International University of Africa, Khartoum has been using a curriculum with the same title: The Unit for Writing African Languages in Arabic Script since 1985.

Khartoum International Institute of Arabic Language, being the technical body of the Arab Organization for Education, Culture and Sciences, has participated in the meetings of the technical committee, the membership of which was drawn from the Islamic Scientific, Educational, and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Islamic Development Bank and Studies & Research Institute of Rabat, in the beginning of its work in 1980s making the proposal for the most suitable Qur’anic Script System to be used in transcribing the African languages. In its participation, Khartoum International Institute has well represented the Sudanese experience in the area.

While serving as an expert at the International Institute of Arabic Language, Professor Yusuf el-Khalifah Abu-Bakr supervised more than 30 theses of Master Degree discussing Qur’anic script between the periods of 1975 and 1998. Professor Abu-Bakr also supervised a thesis of Master Degree on the translation of the meaning of 20 chapters in the Holy Qur’an to Denka language. The work, written in the Arabic script by Mr. Dawood Rayyaak of Denka tribe in Southern Sudan presented to Khartoum International Institute of Arabic was published by the International University of Africa (Edition No.:13).

In 1989, ISESCO has organized a conference at Khartoum International Institute of Arabic, with the theme: Writing the East African Languages Using the Qur’anic Script System.

(2)- In 1993, ISESCO and International University of Africa signed an agreement, the chapter 9 of which stated the following: “Preparing and publishing the curricula and text materials purposely designed to eradicate illiteracy so also educational, scientific, cultural and social publications written in the Qur’anic script. These fall within the context of the project of reproducing the languages of Muslims using the Qur’anic script system, the special Islamic education and the basic formations in the Muslim world and societies”

This agreement has naturally boosted the role previously being played by the International University of Africa. The university assigned the Dean of its Center for Islamic Call and Social Development to liaise with ISESCO in the execution of the partnership projects. To date, the following two projects were executed:

1. Translation of the book Kitab-es-Salat authored by Sheikh es-Swawwaaf into six different African languages as follows: Mandinga, Fulfulde, Loganda, Swahili, Hausa, Wolof (1st Edition, 1996). ISESCO funded the publication and distribution of the copies of the book in the African countries concerned.
2. Training Workshop: Having acquired a number of specifically designed typewriters for writing African languages with Qur’anic script, the university, in collaboration with ISESCO, organized a training workshop in 1996. From the university, 30 students representing 15 countries participated in the workshop. The participants were trained on how to type 16 different African languages with Qur’anic script. The languages include; Wolof, Mandingo, Bamkali, Hausa, Fulfulde, Kanuri, Yoruba, Somali language, Swahili, Danka, Loganda, Aroma, Comoros language and Tigre. Others are Losaga and Jola. Part of the success of that workshop was the discovery that those typewriters, originally designed for 14 languages could be used to write 21 African languages instead.

The Senate Council of International University of Africa in 2003 decided that a unit for writing Muslim languages other than Arabic with the Qur’anic script was to be created. The Senate Council went further and specified the specialization of the unit as follows:

• Studying the phonology of the Muslim languages previously not included in the project, in order to decide scientifically the most suitable symbol to represent a particular sound.
• Rewriting the Muslim heritage the manuscript of which was originally written with Arabic script, typing it and preserving it in the computer, so also providing the necessary reading materials in African languages for the spread of Arabic script
• Preparing a bibliography of the Islamic cultural heritage written in Arabic script
• To popularize and spread the script and help the people who desire to write their languages in Qur’anic script
• Computerizing the Qur’anic script used for writing Muslim languages
• Organizing training workshops for writing Muslim languages with the computerized Qur’anic script
• Organizing annual conferences and workshops on Qur’anic script and related issues.
• Found an establish partnership with the concerned organizations on the issue of Qur’anic script

Unit Council: it consists of 6 members. These are experts linguist and professional educationist and writers of African and non Arabic languages with the Qur’anic script. Among others, the responsibilities of this council include the designation of the policies of the unit so also supervising the implementation of both the programs of the unit and those of the unit in collaboration with ISESCO.

Computerization Council: it consists of 7 members. It is responsible for everything that relate to computerizing the Qur’anic script. To date, their activities have been highly successful since inception.

Administration of the Unit: The University has specified 7 distinctive responsibilities for the unit. Dr. Babikr Gadrmary has been the first chairman of the unit, followed by the current chairman, Professor Yusuf al-Khalifa Abu-Bakr who is being assisted by a team of experts in linguistics and African languages.

The Meetings of the Council, the Administration and the Computerization Council: while the computerization committee of the unit has had 20 different meetings between the years 2003 and 2007, the Unit Council had met 15 times between 2003 and 2008. The Administration Council of the unit on the other hand, has had 27 meetings to 2008.

In 2003, a technical committee consisting of highly qualified professionals was set to take care of the computerization work of the Qur’anic script. Members of this committee, among others, include the Vice Chancellor of Sudan University of Science and Technology and the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering of the International University of Africa.

At its meeting, the committee decided the necessary requirements of the computerization work as well as produced two different schemes for the work. While the computerization committee adopted one of the schemes, upon which the work is based now, the university on its own part, made available both human and other required material resources for the job.

 Stages of the Computerization Work:

The implementation of the computerization plan has gone through a number of stages. These include:

1. Preparation: at this stage, an Arabic character commonly used in computer was selected. This was naskh inscription (simplified Arabic) with its 3 models; regular, bold and italic. Being successful on this, three other types of inscriptions were introduced. These are kufi, thuluth and raq’a.
2. Designing the Inscriptions: At this stage, the unit decided to employ the service of the expert who designed different types of Arabic inscriptions for a number of multinational software companies such as: the popular Microsoft and Apple. The expert designed the inscriptions as standardized by ISESCO and gave it the copyright name Africa. The designed inscriptions include all the specially invented letters to cover the specific phonological needs of the African languages, as well as the eight special vowels. Funded by the International University of Africa, there is no gain saying that the copyright of Africa remains the property of the Unit for Writing Languages with Quranic Script.
3. Designing the Key Board: Designing a key board that is compatible with Microsoft Widows required from the unit the cost of travelling to USA and buying a number of computer programs. They are Font lab 4.0, Key Man Developer 5.0 and Fontographer. With that, the unit has been able to design a compatible computer board for the standardized scrip.
4. Experiment: The experiment started with Hausa language. Having successfully produced a reasonably large size of Hausa text with that key board, the center made the next move by entering the letters of the remaining languages as standardized by ISESCO.
5. Establishing Qur’anic Script Computer Lab: In 2005, the university initiated a 13-computer laboratory in the unit. Ever since, the unit embarked on a nonstop training for batch after another.

One of the immediate programs of the unit for writing languages with Qur’anic script after its establishment was organizing constant training workshops to the students of the international university of Africa. Between the years 2004 and 2007, 272 students from both the African and Asian continent were trained on writing 25 languages.

  a) Designing Greeting Cards:

 part of the media activities embarked upon in order to create as large publicity as possible for Qur’anic script is designing greeting cards with African Languages using the standardized Qur’anic script. These cards are being widely distributed in Africa. Among others, the languages used in designing these cards include Hausa, Swahili, Fulfulde, Denka, Wolof, Comoros and Amharic languages. Others are Oromo, Mandinga and Somali languages.

Another method of publicity is the presentation of academic papers in conferences. The head of the unit professor Yusuf el-Khalifah for example, has so far, presented three academic papers on the theme, Qur’anic Script and Writing the African Languages. As the first paper was presented in ALESCO’s 2001 conference in Khartoum, the second and third papers were consecutively presented at Libyan Arabic Language Conference of 2007 and Congress of Arabic Language in Khartoum.  

c) Introducing Academic Curriculum:

As part of the publicity, the Faculty of Arts of the International University of Africa has introduced as part of its prerequisite curriculum for graduation, teaching the Qur’anic script for writing African languages. After learning the theory, the students would have to undergo practical computer training on to handle the script.

In November, 2007 carefully selected 10 educationists each representing an African country were trained to train other people in the educational sector in their respective countries. Certified after the program, the beneficiaries received training aid (the software of the Qur’anic Script) each so as to be rightly guided while training others.

To date, the unit has produced 7 quarterly news letters since inception. The news letters usually contain the achievement of the Quran script project, proverbs in African languages as well as other related topics. The publication is usually being distributed free of charge to organizations concerned about the Qur’anic script within and without Sudan.

 2. Monthly (internal publication):

Recently, the unit started producing a monthly publication being distributed to the internal publics of the university community. This I to bring to the knowledge of the staff members of the university about the activities of the unit just as their counterparts in other concerned organizations.

The Rate of Phonological Reoccurrence: Different kind of sounds occurs at a higher rate in different languages. For the of letters placement on the keyboard, the unit studied the rate of occurrence in a number of African languages. These include Swahili, Hausa, Fulfulde, Mandinga and Wolof.

Designing the Evaluation Questionnaire: As demanded by the Islamic Development Bank, IDB and ISESCO, the university designed a questionnaire for a thorough evaluation of the program and presented same at the meeting of the organizations concerned with the issue of Qur’anic script under the chairmanship of the Managing Director of Islamic development Bank in Jeddah, 2003. The questionnaire was submitted to Islamic Scientific, Educational, and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) for deliberation and modification and later brought back to the University to affect the suggested corrections.

Cataloging the Academic Works on Qur’anic Script As part of the determination of being scientific, the unit has gone round all the academic institutions in Sudan to collect the academic researches conducted on Qur’anic script. In master degree and PhD theses, the unit has been able collect 70 different titles in the following Qur’anic script related topics: writing the African and Asian languages with the Qur’anic script, writing dictionaries (Arabic+ African language), contrastive studies between Arabic and other languages at morphological, phonological and lexical levels.

The Correspondences between the Unit and the Islamic Development Bank to Set the Project in Motion For the purpose of setting the Qur’anic project in motion the unit kept in touch with IDB and ISESCO. The Unit used not only the telephone, but also the new technology of fax and internet to keep the communicative relation with IDB and ISESCO as strong as possible. The amount of the letter correspondences between the unit and IDB & ISESCO on the other hand for example, was above 30 letters in 2007 alone.

This meeting was held in the International University of Africa in which the following organizations participated: Islamic Development Bank as represented by Professor Abdullah Salem Almitani, Islamic Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, (ISESCO) as represented by Professor Muhammad Ashtatu, the Rabat Institute for Studies and Research, as represented by Dr. Abdurrazaque Turabi and lastly the International University of Africa, as represented by professor Yusuf al-Khalifa Abu-Bakr. Having reviewed the stand of the Evaluation Committee on the achievements of the project hitherto, the meeting came up with about 13 suggestions. Among others, the suggestions include field evaluation of the project through the use of questionnaires and creating a website for the project. Others are promoting the International University of Africa’s affiliated Unit for Writing Languages with Qur’anic Script into an International Center for Qur’anic Script Studies. Also in the meeting, the International University of Africa presented an over view proposal of the project for fund. The proposal which gave a detail account of the academic, administrative and financial implications of the project was accepted and funded. Another proposal submitted to the bank by IUA was that of the website of the unit.

 2. The Third Meeting of the Permanent Standardized Qur’anic Script Evaluation Committee 10-12 Rajab, 1428 Equivalent to 25-27 July, 2007:

• Questionnaire
• Field visit to the countries using the Qur’anic script
• Writing reports that expose the role of the concerned organizations over the project of Qur’anic Script.
• Presenting reasonable honorariums to the team of people implementing the evaluation and those designing its techniques.

  Among the suggestions of the permanent evaluation committee, is setting in motion the agreements signed between the contributing organizations in the project of Qur’anic script for the purpose of promoting Arabic language and Islamic culture.

  In this respect, the International University of Africa has already started implementing the agreements it signed with ISESCO.

  The committee also suggested the organizing of workshops in order to widen the scope of the computerized Qur’anic script implemented by the International University of Africa. Studying the necessary ways to make the script internationally acceptable and creating other types of Arabic inscriptions also formed part of the suggestions of the committee, as it also suggested a workshop to be held in Malaysia in the year 2008 which would also serve as a stride move for taking the project to the Muslim languages in South eastern Asia.

a) The First Regional Workshop, 1426 Equivalent to 23-28 May 2005:
The first regional workshop held in Khartoum, in the month of Rabi'uthani 1426, equivalent to 23-28/5/2005 under the supervision of the representative of ISESCO, Professor Mohamed Ashtatu and professor Yusuf al-Khalifa Abubakr representing the International University of Africa. In the workshop, a number of well researched papers were presented. A number of the academic staff members of the International University of Africa participated in the workshop as well as scholars from both inside and outside Sudan.

b) The Second Regional Workshop,

c) The Third Regional Workshop

d) The Forth Regional Workshop

Following the recommendations of the unit upgrading project Follow-up Committee formed by the Permanent Evaluation Committee, the recommendation of the regional workshop held in the current site of the unit located within the premises of the International University of Africa and as mandated by the ISESCO that sufficient data concerning the project of upgrading the unit into an International Center for Qur'anic Script Studies, should be provided, the Unit has prepared an overview proposal for the center. The proposal consists of the objectives of the proposed Center, its activities, programs, planning and follow-up, the imaginative structure of the center, the map of the its buildings and the estimates of the financial requirements. On its own part, the University has allocated a plot of land for the proposed Center, the size of which stood at about 2207.520 square meters area. Strategically located, the piece of land rests amidst major road network, and can be accessed from different parts of the capital Khartoum, easily.

 2. The Website of the Unit on the Internet: The website of the unit has already been created on the internet so as to communicate to the outer world the activities of the unit, so also the activities of ISESCO and Islamic Development Bank as well as the activities of the organizations concerned with the Qur'anic script project. In the collaboration with the International University of Africa, ISESCO has played a giant part in funding the site which is due to be launched by October, 2008.

 3. The African Hand-Written Transcripts:

The unit has so far collected more than 50 African transcripts from within and without Sudan. From among them, 6 have already been translated from their original African languages into Arabic language. Currently, the unit is planning to publish any of the transcripts matching to the following conditions:

1. the author should be popularly known
2. to be clear about the date of authorship
3. the content of the transcript to be purposeful

 4. Adages and Proverbs in African Languages:

Another service being rendered by unit is the collection of African wise sayings and proverbs. The unit is currently planning to publish the already collected proverbs in a pamphlet.

 5. Preparing 3 Text Books of Language:

The unit has currently delved into the activity of producing text books for teaching African languages through the use of Qur'anic script. An experiment of such has taken place by producing 3 text books in Oromo, Lokenda and Somali languages.

6. 2008 Training Workshop:

In addition to 2 African education experts trainers training held in the International University of Africa, ISESCO has also approved 2 other workshops one of which is to be held in October, 2008 in the international university of Africa. Like the previous one, this workshop also focuses on the African educational experts for writing their languages with Qur'anic script. This is the third workshop of its kind and the second in 2009. The first was a training workshop for Africa newspaper editors producing their publications in the Qur'anic script. It aimed at training them on the use of the standardized and computerized Qur'anic script in their publications and upgrading their journalistic expertise.

7. Yet to be Implemented Proposed Activities:

• Educational Experts Trainers Training Through the Open Learning Method:

  There are basically 2 ways to do this;

  • ‌The traditional direct training (a class consisting of teacher and students)
  • Distance learning using the multimedia. It is known that the latter is less expensive and is capable of teaching a great number of people en mass and at once. We can also exploit the electronic mailing system as well as the website the unit which is about to be launched. What ever the method of teaching, we need, before any other thing, to prepare the learning subject matter. This as follows:
    1. A common educational subject matter (introduction) for the learners in all these languages.
    2. Common subject matter of language (with emphasis on phonology and writing symbols) matching to a number of different linguistic backgrounds.
    3. Specialized subject matter on each of the languages (the phonology, the specific consonants and vowels of the language in question). Even though, these involved a financial commitment.

• Constant Evaluation of the Qur'anic Script Project Through the Electronic Communication with Countries and Organizations:

  Having launched the website of the unit, it is very possible to introduce an evaluation questionnaire. This will ease up the process of getting quick answers from countries and personalities concerned. It is going to serve as a constant way of receiving the suggestions from the beneficiaries all over the world. The collection of the suggestions can be used to improve the project on the annual basis.